Gov. Reynolds signs bill affecting county supervisor elections in Iowa’s largest counties

DES MOINES — A bill altering the procedure for filling county supervisor seats in Linn and Johnson counties has received final approval from Gov. Kim Reynolds.

The bill, Senate File 75, requires counties that house a public university to elect county supervisors by districts, rather than having members elected at-large. Further, special elections will now be required to fill most board vacancies in Iowa’s largest counties.

Reynolds signed the bill into law on Friday. The special election provision will take effect immediately, while counties with public universities — such as Johnson County — have until the 2026 general election to fill seats by district.

Proponents of the bill argued that the legislation was necessary to give more voice to rural Iowans, particularly in counties where a significant portion of the county electorate is made up of college students.

The Johnson County Board of Supervisors strongly opposed the bill, however, and argued that it goes against the principles of Iowa’s Constitution by not allowing counties to govern themselves when there is no clear statewide law in play.

The board — comprised of all Democrats — this week sent a letter to Gov. Reynolds, a Republican, beseeching her to veto the legislation and arguing that the law would unfairly affect Johnson, Story and Black Hawk counties without mandating that other counties with large urban populations hold single-member district elections.

“This inconsistency is not just troubling, it is unjust. It undermines the foundational principle that all Iowans deserve equal treatment under the law. Selectively rewriting the rules for only three counties is not reform. It’s targeted interference,” the letter states.

Currently, Iowa county supervisors can be elected three ways: countywide by district; at-large countywide without district residence requirements for members; or equal-population districts in which voters of each district elect a single member.

Johnson County currently uses the at-large system to elect its five supervisors, meaning significant change is needed to come into compliance with the new law.

Per the legislation signed by Reynolds, Johnson County has until May 15 to create a temporary county redistricting commission, and a precinct plan must be created by Oct. 1.

Precinct plans must then be submitted to the state commissioner, so the legislative services agency can draw and publish the representation plan by Jan. 1. The new districts will go into effect for the 2026 general election.

Johnson County Board Chairman Jon Green told The Gazette that supervisors will discuss the new law at their upcoming work session on Wednesday, April 16, to establish a plan to conform with the legislation.

“We’re examining all of our options so we can meet these new requirements,” Green said. “It’s still early, but we know we have a (legislatively-set) timeline to follow.”

Iowa’s largest counties will fill supervisor vacancies through elections

The bill further outlines new procedures for filling board of supervisor vacancies for Iowa counties with more than 125,000 residents. Under the new law vacancies must be filled via special election if there are more than 70 days in the term.

Based on the 2020 census, the new law will impact Polk, Linn, Scott, Johnson and Black Hawk counties.

Previously, counties could fill vacancies through a special election or through appointment. Most recently, Linn County utilized the latter strategy to fill the District 2 vacancy created through the resignation of former Supervisor Ben Rogers.

A committee of county officers formed after Rogers’ announced his departure, and the committee on April 1 tapped former State Rep. Sami Scheetz to fill the remainder of Rogers’ unexpired term. Under the new law, that process will not be allowed moving forward.

Comments: grace.nieland@thegazette.com